Spotlight - 13.2019

6 Spotlight 13/

Fotos: Grape_vein, iStockphoto, Bjorn Meyer/iStock.com; Brian Choo; privat; Maverick Pictures/Shutterstock.com

Commercial fishing

in Belize: ocean

protections look to

the future

BELIZE

Future oceans

MEDIUM

Belize is taking ocean protection to a whole

new level. The small Central American state

in the Caribbean Sea has a “managed-access

programme” to make sure the waters of Belize

remain a reliable source of income for commer-

cial fishing. Now, after three years, it’s working.

“Belize is the only country in the world that

has successfully divided all its territorial waters,

including functional fishing waters,” fisheries

administrator Beverly Wade told The Guardian.

“We direct all fishermen into two of nine areas

to build an architecture from the ground up,

where [they take] ownership of resources be-

cause their livelihood depends on it.”

The results have been good, and include an

estimated 60 per cent decrease in illegal fishing.

Also, 16 per cent of territorial waters have been

established as “no-take” (no-fishing) zones, so

that stocks can be replenished.

A promising development, too, has been

the return to health of Belize’s 300-kilometre

segment of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef,

important to tourists and fish. Last year, it was

removed from UNESCO’s Wo r l d He r i t a g e

danger list. Nicanor Requena of the US-based

Environmental Defence Fund (EDF) calls

Belize’s progressive system of ocean protection

“the vision for the future”.

barrier reef [)bÄriE (ri:f]

, Barriereriff

Caribbean [)kÄrE(bi:En]

, karibisch

fisheries administrator

[(fISEriz Ed)mInIstreItE]

, Fischereiminister(in)

livelihood [(laIvlihUd]

, Lebensgrundlage

replenish [ri(plenIS]

, sich regenerieren

source of income

[)sOs Ev (InkVm]

, Erwerbsquelle

stock [stQk]

, hier: Fischbestand

territorial waters

[terE)tO:riEl (wO:tEz]

, Hoheitsgewässer

World Heritage: ~ danger list

[w§:ld (herItIdZ]

, Rote Liste des gefährdeten

We l t e r b e s

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

NEWS AND VIEWS

IN THE SPOTLIGHT